CRITICAL REVIEW

Critical review

Introduction

The book was written in the year, 1997 by Anne Fadiman. The book focuses the struggles of Hmong refugee family with a child; it captures the scene of the interaction of the refugee family with the healthcare system in California. The child was deprived of proper food while it was being conceived, due to the refuge that was sought in the foreign land. As a result, the child suffered from health disorder called epilepsy, however, the people were not able to accept the refugees and render their rights. The American responsibility for the war in Laos was not accepted by the people, as depicted in the book through their treatment of refugees. The book pertains to the central character named Lia Lee, who suffered from epilepsy due to hardships suffered by her mother while she was being conceived. The author builds the central argument around cultural dissonance. The condition of epilepsy is referred to a mental disorder in the American medicine, whereas, in the Hmong culture, it is thought to be an honorable state, where, the one suffers with epilepsy dispatches healing to the souls who are caught by evil souls seeking for vulnerable and less loved children. The American doctors were unable and less interested in finding out the problem of Lia, they emphasize that there were several difficulties including the language barriers, besides, they rejected the Hmong concept of soul with degrading of the Hmong concept. The central idea of the argument is the lack of sensitivity of the American people to understand other cultures, as well as, interest to look into their problems. The book is based upon the interaction between Lia's parents and the doctors leading to cultural dissonance (Fadiman, 1997).

It is the story regarding the closeness of the American people to demonstrate the culture that has insensitivity towards other cultures. The American culture encompasses of the value that the idea is to be open to cultures that are less economically privileged, the novel says a contrary idea.

The book is based upon the notion for the significance of openness, acceptance and regard. The practice of medicine is a practice for healing, and therefore, it has to take all that the patient has to offer, despite of being unpleasant.

Discussion

The key points

The author uses evidential approach, rather than, mere subjective justifications. The author uses expressive and implied justifications to address the argument. He puts several ideas under the theme to further strengthen and develop the argument; they are discussed as under;

The interaction between doctors and Lia's parents

The doctors are rigid and stringent about the medical beliefs they had learned. Whereas, they were showing no respect or acceptance for the belief of Hmong culture regarding the human souls, the interaction was not a pleasant one, but rather, it turned out to be a rigid one due to unwillingness of the American doctors to understand the crises they have been through.

The difference of cultures

Another major facet that is used to build the evidence that ...